Redmond: A Life Undone brings to life seven pivotal years in Irish history, when the campaign for Home Rule seized the imagination of a nation and brought Ireland to the brink of a negotiated settlement with Britain. The architect of this campaign was John Redmond, the shrewd and assured leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party.

Opening with euphoric scenes on Dublin’s O’Connell St when tens of thousands assembled in support of Home Rule, Redmond tells his story during these years. It charts his path from power broker in the British parliament in 1910, when Home Rule for Ireland seemed a fait accompli, to public enemy by 1917, when, in the wake of World War I, Irish nationalist politics migrated from the parliamentary chamber to the barricade.

Redmond succeeds in weaving a complex portrait of a forgotten hero of Irish politics and the personalities – from Churchill to Carson, de Valera to Lloyd George – who aided and, ultimately, frustrated his life’s work. 

'At last, a biography that recognises the role played by Redmond in the creation of modern Ireland. Chris Dooley brings the man and his times vividly to life in this excellent account. Full of intelligence and sympathy, it is a book that deserves to be read by anyone who wants to understand how our country came into being.’

Fergal Keane, BBC